Overview
- Ranchi Police entered the Enforcement Directorate’s Ranchi office and collected CCTV footage after ex-state employee Santosh Kumar alleged assault during questioning.
- The High Court stayed the state police investigation into the FIR against ED officials, directed deployment of central forces to secure the office, and said the raid appeared prima facie pre-planned.
- The ED sought a CBI inquiry into the police action, the court set response timelines for the state and complainant, and it warned the Ranchi SSP would be personally accountable for any security lapse.
- ED officials told the court they are probing a roughly Rs 23 crore case linked to Kumar and reported a Rs 9 crore recovery, while the agency disputes the assault claim as self-inflicted injuries.
- In a related confrontation elsewhere, the Supreme Court stayed West Bengal FIRs against ED officers over the I-PAC searches, called the interference allegations very serious, and listed the matter for February 3.